STUDIES ON THE PIGMENTS OF MARINE ANIMALS -IX. PIGMENTS OF THE SEA-SLUG APLYSIA KURODAI-

Abstract

The purple ink secretion secreted from the ink-gland (gland of Bahatsh) of Aplysia, has been studied by many workers and the name of aplysiopurpurin is given for this pigment. An intensive study was carried out by LEDERER and HUTTRER (1942) on the aplysiopurpurin of Aplysia punctata. They pointed out that aplysiopurpurin contains two kinds of chromoprotein, one of which is a violet component, and the other, a red component. They found that aplysioviolin, a prosthetic group of the violet chromoprotein and aplysiorhodin, a prosthetic group of the red chromoprotein which resemble? mesobilibiolin and mesobilirhodin respectively in their properties. They concluded that aplysioviolin and aplysiorhodin are bilidiene (having two -CH= and one -CH2- group in the tetrapyrrol chain). Three pigments (violet, red, and green) were separated chromatographically from the secretion of Aplysia depilans by CHRISTOMANOS (1955), who suggests that these three pigments are porphyrin pigment. The author examined the pigments of purple secretion and of orange coloured ova of Aplysia kurodai and two pigments (blue and red) were separated from the secretion. They are bile pigment, not porphyrin pigment. The pigment of ova is carotenoid, which was isolated in crystalline form.